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Hi everyone! I have been lurking for a while and figured it was about time to sign up. I read my first visual novel several years ago when 999 was released and fell in love with VNs since. I haven't read many VNs yet, but I would like to change that! I think this community is a good place to be to help me with reading a lot more, and I am happy to be here!

As usual, I spent a lot of time thinking over this before I even considered making a decision. The original list of candidates at the end of the year (after the initial series of in-brain eliminations) is as follows: Tokyo Necro Akeiro Kaikitan Amatsutsumi Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana (knocked Inochi no Spare out of the running) Tokyo Necro Tokyo Necro is Nitroplus's first masterpiece outside of the Science series (Steins;Gate, for those who don't know what I'm talking about) since Muramasa, all those years ago. As such, it is an obvious favorite, being the sole chuunige kamige of the year, as well as a solid story from beginning to end even without considering my personal tastes (if anything, the presence of zombies is a negative for me, normally). It is brilliantly written from start to finish, with a masterful twisting of the elements of the setting to create a fascinating variance between the paths that made for some really interesting endgame story paths. In addition, the characters themselves were awesome, acting out their roles within the story in a down and dirty way that you generally don't get in most non-rapegames. In other words, this is Nitroplus at its dark and dirty best for the first time in over half a decade. Akeiro Kaikitan Like its predecessor, Nanairo Reincarnation, Akeiro is a brilliant blend of supernatural darkness with everyday life... and with real consequences rather than the moe goofiness that defines most such mixtures in VNs. It has mystery, it has horror, it has catharsis, and it has great characters. Depending on what path you choose, the protagonist's path through life is dramatically altered, as is the fate of the heroines. This reminds me of why Nanairo won the incredibly competitive 2014 competition so easily, despite the presence of Bradyon Veda and a number of other awesome games. Amatsutsumi Amatsutsumit is a game for those who want a good cry, and it shows. It lost out to Floral Flowlove in its VN of the Month competition, but the truth is that it should have been a dual winner, when it came down to it, since they were equal in quality from beginning to end, with only the ladder-style story structure causing me to rate it somewhat lower. Seen apart from that, however, it is an ideal example of Purple Soft's evolution from a third-rate charage maker to a brilliant maker of fantasy nakige since the release of Mirai Nostalgia. Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana This is 2016's biggest surprise, an overwhelmingly powerful nakige that doesn't bother doing much more than stabbing your heart with the plight of the characters and their travels from the depths of despair up the staircase of hope. In terms of emotional impact, I can honestly say no other VN in this year even got close, which is why Inochi no Spare got knocked off the list by this one. I'll be straight... I'm a sucker for the heroes drunk on their own heroism, and the protagonist in this one fills that bill perfectly. As such, I literally spent hours in tears playing this game. VN of the Year Announcement Those four were the final candidates when I moved to my inner-brain semi-finals, and they fought one another viciously for a place in the finals, then the golden Pocky of VN of the Year. Karenai Sekai shattered Amatsutsumi in a battle that lasted only a few moments, and Tokyo Necro and Akeiro Kaikitan fought a brutal fistfight that ended with broken bones and Tokyo Necro's heel on Akeiro's head. In the end, there came a brutal month-long battle in my back-brain between Tokyo Necro and Karenai Sekai, the two kamige blasting entire imaginary cities away in their attempts to claw out one another's guts. Again and again, they shattered swords on one another's bones and regenerated from seemingly fatal wounds in an instant. A continent sank beneath their feet, yet they continued to war with one another, even as their armies of followers drowned in the onrushing waters of the world's oceans. In the end it was a matter of overall brilliance of design as a victory over pure emotionalism that resulted in Tokyo Necro being victor over Karenai Sekai, thus becoming VN of the Year 2016. Unlike 2015, where there were few to choose from, 2016 was excellent, with numerous candidates from various genres to pick from. While I won't go so far as to say the year was awe-inspiring, it was indeed a pleasure to read the VNs listed above, as well as those below. Honorable Knockouts/Worthy of Memory Floral Flowlove Inochi no Spare Senren Banka Gin'iro, Haruka Akiyume Kukuru Ryuukishi Bloody Saga Signalist Stars Yomegami Sora no Tsukurikata Lamunation (this and Signalist were the best comedy VNs of the year) Sakura no Mori Dreamers (knocked out of the running by Akeiro Kaikitan) Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni Naru (knocked out by Floral Flowlove and Amatsutsumi for nakige candidacy) World Election Koi Suru Otome to Shugo no Tate - Bara no Seibo - (sequel, so not a candidate) Ou no Mimi ni wa Todokanai (two great games by AXL in one year...)

I'm going to be blunt. As soon as Persona 5 comes out, I'll probably drop everything and stop talking for at least two or three days. As such, you can pretty much be sure that the time from now until the fourth is the time for me to play VNs, lol. This month is, however, extremely heavy on the number of releases, if not the level of excitement that follows them (Minori's style is antithetical to me, so I really do want to offload Trinoline on someone else, despite their high quality productions). As such, I'm making a list of the VNs from this month and my priorities. Currently playing/finished Omoi o Sasageru Otome no Melody Haruru Minamo ni! Priority to play (in order) Hataraku Otaku no Ren'ai Jijou (same series as Hataraku Otona, which was awesome) Suisou Ginka no Istoria Noroi no Maken ni Yamitsuki Otome Kamidanomishisugite Ore no Mirai wa Yabai (the newest Oreyaba game) I badly want to offload onto someone else (low priority) Trinoline Amanatsu Adolescence Full Kiss Other (not sure if nukige or something else) Office de Sasou, Ecchi no Kanojo (looked interesting, lol)

Why do I know where that image is from

It's alright, I completely understand. It was weird seeing it glitch out (attempted to vote twice since the first time the poll disappeared, and then it showed up later like I never voted in it, chose Kira Kira both times, and then Deardrops shows up as the choice later...it was really strange! XD), but I'm fine with whatever gets chosen in the end. A VN reading club sounds really awesome and I'd like to participate in it!

Reviving this thread for Atelier Firis, which came out a few weeks ago. After really enjoying Ayesha Plus a while back, I've been periodically jonesing for an Atelier game. I tried Rorona Plus a while back, but it didn't really click with me (I think the time pressure of its assignments felt a little too stressful), and when I saw this one had come out I decided it was time to give the series another go. Just started the game and got through the tutorial time period last night, and it's looking to be a lot of fun. JRPGs filled with cute girls are nice and all, but really, it's the gather-and-create alchemy gameplay that makes me burn through the time on these games, and Firis really looks to have nailed that both by changing some things up and by adding some more little twists to the alchemy process (unless the feature I saw was present in Sophie or something, which is possible, since I skipped a few entries in the series). At any rate, looking forward to sinking a lot of time into this. With Persona 5 coming out so soon, starting this game may not have been the best decision, but Persona will just have to wait while I travel the world cooking up ALL the recipes.

Welcome to our humble abode! Ever17's English copies are VERY rare and go for hundreds of dollars, and Remember11 was never officially localized (you'd need to import and patch a Japanese version). That said, both are more than worth experiencing. Here, have an OST:

Considering in the past Mangagamer has usually used the beginning of the year for nukige titles I imagine that's all we're going to get for Anime Boston. Would be nice if that were wrong though.

Shin Koihime is better in every possible way. The original Koihime was a really half-assed attempt to utilize the Three Kingdoms setting, with weak characterization and a complete white-washing of anything interesting from the era. For one thing, Sun Ce is already deceased in Koihime, despite it beginning before the point in history in which Sun Ce died. In addition, the endgame makes not a lick of sense. Shin Koihime has the advantage of a much richer story with less of an obsession with sex in general, even in the Shoku path. Edit: To be clearer, Shin Koihime is basically three deep stories in one game, each based in the same world, with the difference being in what side the protagonist takes. This decision alters his lifestyle and experiences beyond all recognition, since each side has its own philosophy and differences in how they treat him, as well as dramatically differing heroine personalities. If you pick Cao Cao's side, for instance, the protagonist's role is primarily as a civil officer, occasionally providing ideas but primarily serving as a city patrol officer as well as a companion to the other characters. In the Sun family's case, he is an adviser/tactician, as well as the husband to all the women generals. In the case of Liu Bei and the crew, he is the overall figurehead ruler and symbol of the nation, though Liu Bei also serves in that role. In the original Koihime, the protagonist was treated like a messiah+ harem king from beginning to end, and the results were... boring in comparison. Not to mention that the actual storyline was just not as well written or designed.

eustia

Overall, the best thing is to read the original Koihime Musou for the Shoku route and Shin Kohime Musou for the Go and Gi routes (if the translation gets ever finished). The Shoku route in SKM is shorter and definitely inferior to the original, but SKM has quite decent Go and Gi routes instead which the original doesn't have at all. Gameplay in both versions is similar simplistic and more for decoration.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've simply reached a point where playing four VNs from every month's releases is now unfeasible. However, at the same time, I wish to ensure that the role I set this up for in the first place continues to be fulfilled. The Original Purpose of VN of the Month The central purpose of VN of the Month is to give people a general idea of what they can expect going into a VN that is untranslated. Is it enjoyable? Who would it be enjoyable for? What kind of genre is it a part of? Is there something that makes this VN special? The current situation I no longer have the energy to do everything I have been doing. Doing VN of the Month takes up amounts of time I'd rather be spending asleep, being social, or helping with translation projects. Moreover, I'm currently in the middle of an apparent rush season for my work, so keeping up with it has become burdensome in the extreme. However, I remember when all opinions of VNs were basically given off-hand in instant messaging and chat platforms, and no one really had any idea if a VN was any good, because of the troll voting that plagues all database sites. While there are some English language VN bloggers out there, they mostly concentrate on translated entries and titles by companies everybody is already familiar with (such as Favorite, Pulltop, Yuzusoft, Minori, etc). My solution I want to ask some of the people who regularly play new VNs on Fuwa to take some of the burden off my shoulders... in particular, I'd like to at least offload two of the charage from each month on some people so I can concentrate on VNs I have a standing interest in. Preferably, I would like four or five people to do maybe one of these VNs each every two months (accounting for other people's reading speed and time constraints). To be blunt, I have no interest in aiding and abetting another person's burnout by forcing them into handling a VN or two every month on schedule, so that is why I want the greater numbers. The issue Japanese readers are still a vast minority here, and I don't know if it is even realistic to expect anyone but me to even consider helping with something like this. I know a few people who read fairly fast, but I honestly don't want to make a request directly that is fundamentally burdensome. If you are interested, comment on this blog post and we'll work things out in a PM. Edit: Keep in mind that what I want are opinions. To be blunt, I can write up a blog post based on someone else's opinions in under ten minutes if I need to, even if they themselves are terrible at writing or organizing their thoughts. It is what I do for a living, after all. In this way, the focus will shift somewhat... because I'll be handing things over to people who have a preference for the genre they are playing. That's why I'd like to get some charage players on board. While I personally strive for as little bias as possible, the fact is that charage reviews should be geared to charage lovers, and that is something I can't provide, sadly. The same goes for mystery, sports-focused, and denpa types. I have no taste for those genres, so it is best that I leave them to someone else who does like them. Current new Members- fun2novel: Specialties are mindfuck, mystery, and chuunige. I'll be depending on him primarily for mystery VNs, which I dislike. For a start, I've asked him to take over Ouka Sabaki, since I can't bring myself to play it. He's got a decent level of experience, and he is reasonably fast.

I think cheating and netorare are different things, while i like the first i aboslutely fucking despise the second.

My Yuri loving blood trembles.

I thought this was a meme, and then I realized that he actually posted this. What a legend

Feel free to just send me a bunch of opinions, unedited. Stream of consciousness is fine. I'll edit it into something readable, send it back to you to see if it fits how you felt about the game, then post it if you are fine with it. The only real requirements of the mini-reviews for a charage are: 1) were the characters well-developed? 2) What were your favorite parts of the VN? 3) What kind of reader do you think would like it? 4) Are the endings satisfying? These are the basics of 'reviewing' a charage based mostly on its narrative and characters. If there was something you liked especially about the audio or visual aspects, feel free to throw that in as well. All of this is going to go through me in the end, so I'll probably end up 'fixing' a lot of the text so that it is readable in some cases. However, as long as you can give me your answers to the questions above, it will be acceptable to me. The point of this blog is to inform readers before they read a VN, so they can know if they might enjoy it, so they can avoid kusoge or go in with the knowledge that 'it is this type of story'. As a charage player who actually enjoys them, your opinions will probably provide a flavor I myself can't produce on my own, since charage are quite a distance outside my favored genres, given a choice.

Period Summary “Dear God, I now make this, the single request of my life…” The near future, Nagasaki. Into this city, with its long and checkered past was born a rarity: a child with wings. I don’t know when it started, but the school overlooking the town came to be known as hallowed ground and that is where we met. Though summer comes closer, there is nothing new, and a boring day just rolls on. But his boring life suddenly ends. He is forced to look for a key of the observatory. He reluctantly accepts it, but gets a little bit excited. An exciting feeling.... A hunch that something will happen. Just before the summer holiday, he meets her... Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order Period is based on a point system that awards points to each character depending on the choice you chose. For simplicity's sake I compiled all of the point choices into basic choices for each character. With the exception of one choice no points are taken for different choices but the choices will affect what summer you have and what heroine you get at the end. The choices below are only the ones that give points, anything I left out will have no impact on your route. Also note that some choices below may not appear depending on some choices beforehand. ★ means the choice doesn't matter in that specific route. There is no route order required to understand the story, but to get all the routes you have to play two characters at a specific point. Asahi will need at least two other girls AND Miyu's route completed for her route to appear. Koto's route will only appear after you complete ALL of the other routes. if you do wish for an order I suggest: Miyu/Yukina/Rin/Aoi/Kohane/Tsuzumi/Asahi/Koto Route Guideline Yazuki Miyu Good End Kawasaki Yukina Good End Kagamiya Rin Good End Sawatari Aoi Good End Koishikawa Kohane Good End Mizuhara Tsuzumi Good End "True" Route *Note that this requires at least two routes AND Miyu's to be completed* Onodera Asahi Good End Bonus Route *Note that this requires ALL routes to be completed* Sawatari Koto Good End Attribution This walkthrough is based on info attained on gamefaqs.com and tlwiki.org with some adjustments made by me.